The Load
Sun Apr 21, 2019
6:00 PM
Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive
Though rarely spoken of, the unseen contents of a plain white cargo van are at the center of Ognjen Glavonićs tense and moving political drama about moral responsibility during times of war and conflict. Leon Lučev plays Vlada, a driver for hire for the Serbian government, transporting a vehicle from Kosovo to Belgrade. His journey takes him into unexpected territory, both physical and ethical. Glavonićs absorbing film occasionally departs from Vladas trip, following secondary characters and moments, details that subtly underline the omnipresent circles of moral culpability and their impact.
Taking inspiration from shocking real-life events, the writer-directors debut fictional feature goes a step further, illustrating that the emotional toll is both utterly inescapable and often relegated to fester in the recesses of memory. Its a weighty, complex subject, but one this clear-eyed political thriller doesnt shy away from at any moment.Sarah Ward, Screen International
An exceptional war film that never once shows the atrocities of war, never tries to represent the unrepresentable. Rather, Glavonićs focus is on the heavy burden of guilt borne by those who, even if they never participated directly and tried only to cope with the difficulties of war, by their very inaction make themselves complicit in wars horrors.Azadeh Jafari, Cinema Scope